The One That Got Away| Sirius Black

020| The Morning After

February 11, 1975

Sirius didn't end up going back to their dormitory until the late hours of the night when he was sure that James and Peter were asleep. He didn't sleep much that night, his mind was racing with negative thoughts and he kept replaying his conversation with Isabella in his head. He felt horrible but he didn't know what to do. Isabella was the most stubborn woman he had ever met and he knew she wouldn't hear him out.

When Sirius heard Peter stirring from his bed, Sirius acted like he was just waking up too. Peter looked around the room, seeming confused and he looked relieved when he saw Sirius laying in his bed.

"Where were you last night?" Peter asks groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"There's a part of the castle that overlooks the grounds and Isabella likes to go there. I had to make sure she didn't see Moony leaving the castle," Sirius explains. He didn't want to tell his friends about his fight with Isabella, but he did owe them an explanation of where he had been.

"Oh good," Peter mumbles his eyes slowly drooping closed. He then startles himself awake again blinking rapidly. "We should probably go visit Remus."

"Yeah, but who's going to wake James up?" Sirius asks raising a brow. James was the hardest person to wake up. He was such a deep sleeper that they could have a live band in here and James would sleep through it. There were some mornings when James would wake up super early to get ready though, those were the days when he wanted to impress Lily.

"I'll do it," Peter sighs after a moment of the boys staring at each other. Sirius silently cheered since he didn't want to deal with James after getting so little sleep the past two nights.

Peter grabs an empty container and uses his wand to fill it with ice-cold water. He then uses his wand to move it toward James's bed. He dumps it on James who opens his eyes quickly. James's eyes dart around in alarm and when he realizes there is no immediate danger he calms down. "That wasn't very nice," he mumbles tiredly. He closes his eyes again, blindly reaching around his bedside table. When his hand lands on his wand he grabs it and uses a spell to dry himself off.

"Oh James c'mon," Sirius whines as James begins dozing back off. "We have to go check on Moony."

"Says the one who never came back last night," James sasses back, not bothering to open his eyes. "Moony can last five more minutes without me."

"Fine, Peter and I will go by ourselves. When Remus writes you out of his will I don't want to hear about it," Sirius says. At this, James's eyes shoot open. 

"He would never! He already promised to name his first child after me," James brags finally sitting up in bed.

"Well, I'm going to be his best man," Peter says crossing his arms over his chest proudly.

"Well, that's bullocks! What am I, chopped liver?" Sirius pouts jokingly.

"I wouldn't even give you that good of a title," James teases, getting out of bed and stretching. "Well? Let's go, you guys were the ones rushing me."

So the three boys make their way up to the hospital wing. They find Remus in one of the furthest beds. He was fast asleep, but he looked horrible. A long gash was running from his temple to his opposite cheek. He had various other small scratches and his eye looked slightly bruised. Madam Pomfrey had done a good job of healing his cut, but it would definitely leave a scar. Sirius steps closer to the bed, examining Remus's marred face. None of the boys knew what to say, they had only seen Remus get this hurt once before and that was the night they decided to become Animagus.

Remus seems to sense the boys' presence and begins stirring in his sleep. They try to look away, not wanting him to feel self-conscious about the new injuries to his face. Finally, Remus's eyes flutter open to see his three best friends standing above his bed. It was obvious, he felt embarrassed, for them to see him in such a vulnerable state. "Got myself pretty bad this time, eh?" he offers to lighten the awkward tension in the room.

"What that little thing? I hardly recognized it?" Sirius says lightly. James kicks him hard from his side and Sirius curses as he jumps on one leg to try to stop the aching sensation.

"It's okay James. People are gonna have something to say one way or another," Remus shrugs, attempting to act nonchalant.

"I'm sure the girls will love it," Peter smiles sweetly. That earns him a mean glare from James.

"How come he gets a glare and I get my shin broken in half?" Sirius whines rubbing the spot where James had kicked him.

"Sorry Remus, your friends here lack any emotional intelligence or basic empathy," James excuses them, completely ignoring Sirius. 

The truth was, none of them knew what to say to their friend. Sirius's coping mechanism was humor and Peter usually just word vomited under pressure. James and Remus were their best bets when it came to difficult situations and they both seemed to be at a loss. They all felt guilty that they couldn't be with Remus and help him through his transition. Sirius felt especially horrible because he was up fighting in the astronomy tower with Isabella while his friend was tearing himself to shreds. The room filled with another uncomfortable silence which was strange for the four rowdy boys.

"It's okay lads. It's just something we'll have to get used to," Remus says shyly. "It would help if you guys would treat me normally though."

"It's kinda hard with that ugly thing on your face," Sirius says, hoping the joke will make Remus feel like nothing is out of the ordinary. All the boys stare at him with various looks of shock. For a second, Sirius is scared that he said something wrong. Then Remus lets out a little chuckle and Sirius's nerves disappear as he smiles back at Remus. "Only kidding Remy."